I’ve stopped and started this book so many times, but I just can’t get past the first few chapters. The character arc is not going the way I thought and it’s hard for me to keep interest in the story. DNF at 20%.

This was an entertaining read, but as much as I enjoyed it and found myself rooting for Elizabeth to find her voice, I found myself repeatedly frustrated by how determined she seemed at times NOT to. I also felt there was maybe too much plot, to the point things got a bit convoluted. One element of magic would have sufficed to create an outstanding story, rather than an outlandish one. Overall, I’m glad I gave this a read.

Thank you Lena Gibson, Black Rose Writing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

A hint of magic and some time travel. Engaging, with careful plotting, richly flawed characters, and a surprising conclusion.
Many thanks to Black Rose Writing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a dual time story with time travel with a while you were sleeping vibe.

Summary:

Elizabeth works in a museum with Christopher. She dated his brother, Brandon who ghosted her without any explanation. Elizabeth ended up married to Eric who was abusive. He dies in a care wreck when she was driving him to the hospital and loses the ability to speak due to the trauma. At work one day (three years after Brandon disappeared), Christopher breaks the news to her that Brandon went into a coma and had died a few months after he disappeared from what was labeled a drug overdose. That night she goes home and makes a wish to go back in time to try and save Brandon. It works and she is transported back to 2017. In 2017, she enlist the help of Christopher to help save Brandon's life while putting their own lives in danger. Eric is this timeline becomes a stalker (but she doesn't marry him).


My thoughts:

The Wish held my captivated the whole way through. It kept me reading because I wanted to know what would happen with Eric, with Brandon and would they be able to save him with losing their own lives, what would happen between Christopher and Elizabeth and would she ever be able to speak again. There was so much action that I never lost interest and I never saw the ending coming. It made sense but I just think there would be a connection between Eric and Brandon.

I will definitely read more from Lena Gibson and plan to buy The Wish as a physical copy when I can so I can read it again and again.
Thank you NetGalley, Black Rose Writing and Lena Gibson for the complimentary copy of The Wish.

This was one of those books I stayed up way too late most nights to binge. I think we all want Christopher to be our lover after this story. What an emotional rollercoaster of love,lust, nausea, sadness and everything else that comes with every relationship possible. I was pleasantly surprised not having to read thru how absolutely no one believed Elizabeth time traveled, but rather, her therapist was there throughout the journey and Christopher could read her mind - amazing writing; Lena had me questioning what I thought I knew, then brought me back to reality over and over again. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this title; I regret not having read it sooner.

Due to a tragic accident that took the life of her husband Eric Elizabeth no longer has the ability to talk but that doesn’t stop her ex boyfriend Brandon‘s brother from constantly talking to her even doing her voice if necessary. Elizabeth never let him know but it kind of amuses her but on this day he has something very important to ask her and although she would usually say no for some reason she says yes. Elizabeth and Brandon broke up because he basically ghosted her but her and Chris work in the same building for the same company in must interact. That night at dinner Elizabeth finds out some very upsetting things like for example her ex and Chris’s brother is dead due to an overdose but according to Chris he thinks someone murdered him and he wants Elizabeth to help find out what happened. He says he will give her time to think about it but that night before going to sleep she gets her Amber rock that her therapist gave her and just and jest tells her cat Ember she wishes she could have a do over. Imagine her surprise when she wakes up the next morning and Emeril is a kitten and everything is the way it was five years ago before she met Eric and before Brandon left her unfortunately she still has to attend her sister‘s wedding where she met Eric but since Chris invited himself to the event she thinks she’ll be able to avoid him but I guess when you are meant to cross someone’s path you’re going to no matter how many do overs you get. This time however she won’t be married to him but the plague of Eric it’s still horrible and it spreads to Chris. They still want to find out what is happening with his brother Brandon Bowen Eric set it up to make Chris look like a theme and a felon and he gets arrested things couldn’t get worse but they do! This book was so good I love love love Chris and wish they were men like that in real life he was so awesome this is a great book by an author I have read before and she never disappoints what a great mystery romance. I want to thank Blackrose riding and net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This was so good! I love a good time travel romance and this one had a good sprinkling of magic, spice and ptsd thrown in. It was so good!
I just reviewed The Wish by Lena Gibson. #TheWish #NetGalley
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I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Wish" and all opinions expressed are my own. I do like to read time loop, time travel books. I like mystical. I think that everyone has regrets and would love to have a do-over on some things in their lives. Overall I thought this book was interesting. There are twists and turns and they will keep you guessing. Overall I liked the whole story.

I may be in the minority of readers, but this book just did not keep my interest. I was intrigued in the beginning with Elizabeth’s silence and trying to understand what caused it. It seemed obvious from the beginning how Christopher might fit into her story. Although the time travel was an interesting concept to carry the story, once it started the book became less interesting to me. And maybe I just don’t have enough imagination but the entire storyline about the venom and the antidote and the bad guys I just did not enjoy. The book was well written and I did love parts of it, but overall, just not for me. I received an ARC from the publisher and appreciate the opportunity to read this book. This did not impact my opinion.

This book deserves five stars because it has it all, time travel, mystery, thriller, magic and love. Elizabeth has lived through a bad time and now has a chance to start all over again. However the past is not what she expected. This author had me turning the pages and wanting to know what was going to happen next. Finding out about Eric and what he wanted from Elizabeth was creepy, no matter what she does he wants her and plans on winning. I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read more from this author. I received a free book and the views and opinions are my own.

Blending elements of romance, magical realism, mystery and science fiction, Gibson has crafted a unique story that grabs your attention right from the start and never lets go.

Autistic-coded Elizabeth Bergstrom has suffered from selective mutism for 2 years following the death of her abusive ex-husband in a car accident she survived. She met him shortly after her ex-boyfriend Brandon broke up with her and married him on the rebound. As the story opens, we meet Brandon’s brother Christopher who works with her at the Portland Museum of Natural History where he takes pleasure in charmingly goading her, in the hopes he’ll get her to talk. Soon after, she learns that Brandon died many years before and wishes for a do-over. Be careful what you wish for because she wakes up five years in the past. Almost immediately, Elizabeth begins to see past events from a different perspective, but she also has to decide what actions she’ll take to rewrite her future. Surprisingly, she’s still mute, but when she reconnects with Christopher to try to save Brandon, she learns that he can read her thoughts and believes that she’s from the future, making the entire process easier.

There’s never a dull moment in this story, from the ex-husband who is so much worse than she ever knew to her sister who acts as if Elizabeth is incapable of rational thought because she can’t speak (and makes selfish, damaging decisions as a result). The reason behind Brandon’s coma reads like a combination of science fiction and a bloody, psychological thriller, but there’s also a beautiful romance and a few dashes of magical realism with an invisible cloak, time travel, and mind-reading. Gibson also sensitively tackles grief, guilt, scientific ethics, ableism, and domestic violence without these heavy topics weighing down or stalling the narrative.

If you’re looking for a complex story that will keep you riveted and at the edge of your seat, pick this one up. This would be an excellent choice for a book club given how much fodder there is for discussion. I only wish that a major publisher was behind this book because it deserves a wider audience. Highly recommended.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are strictly my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Black Rose for the opportunity to read The Wish by Lena Gibson. Lovely! With a little bit of everything - suspense, romance, magic!

I love a good time travel story and the main plot of this book sees Elizabeth making a wish for a do-over. She then wakes up five years before she made her wish and she immediately jumps to a time travel conclusion, without even checking her phone or TV for the date! We then have Christopher who believes her without any pushback, which is a little odd until you find out his secret. In addition, her Therapist has witchy ‘powers’ and she hires a PI firm who have an invisible cloak. In truth, I would have preferred the story without all the side characters’ ‘special powers’ - it all felt a little too convenient and it took the story from being semi credible/imaginable, to an absolute farce. The story is readable enough if you can overlook, or accept the weirdness which accompanies the side characters: Unfortunately, I could not. Many thanks however to NetGallery and White Rose Writing for allowing me to get a copy of the book.

The wish was a fun story full of intrigue and humor. I think we can all relate to a wish to go back to that one decision or fork in the road and change it. I loved reading about the adventures of Lizzy and Christopher as they worked together to find the truth about Christopher’s brother.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC copy of the book.
Picking this book up, I was expecting a cheesy romance story. While that was in there, this book was more than that. There were mystery elements as well as some thriller moments. It was an easy read that kept me interested until the very end. There were a couple of trigger warnings that you might want to look into before reading if you have some things you don't want to read. I'm not going to spoil anything listing them here.
4.5 rounding up

When her life is out of her control and it seems as if she'll never be able to speak again, Elizabeth makes a wish. If she could just go back, she'd "fix" everything that is broken in her life. Her wish is granted, she wakes up the next morning 5 years in the past, before everything went wrong. But can you really fix something before it's broken?

This book is very skillfully written. The characters "fit" the story perfectly. You just want to show them what is wrong and tell them how to fix it, but Lena Gibson does an excellent job of guiding them through the trials in front of them. They must figure out how everything went wrong in order to keep it from repeating. But their actions will change the future, just maybe not the way they predicted. An excellent read for me, no slow chapters, no "what did I just read" events and an ending that makes the thrill of the chase all worth it.

I was hooked from the very beginning of The Wish. Elizabeth hasn’t spoken to another person since a car accident in which her husband is killed. The year is 2022 and she learns that her ex-boyfriend has died. That night she wishes she had a do-over. It’s 2017 when she wakes up, but she still is mute, but is determined to prevent her ex’s death. Will she reset her life or change it?
This was a great, fun read! It is a romance and a fantasy, with a touch of the supernatural. Set aside the day for reading, because the book keeps you hooked from start to finish.
Thanks to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for the ARC.

The Wish by Lena Gibson is not a book I would pick up and think I would like this story. I received a arc from NetGalley and did not know what the story was about. It started out slow and I was confused why Elizabeth could not talk. Then Elizabeth made a wish and traveled back in time 5 years to prevent events from happening. There was a lot of different events taking place and the author tied them all up at the ending. Did I like the story, I did like the story.

Trigger warning : domestic violence , stocking

I have discovered a fabulous new writer —I loved this book ! — This is a great time traveling science fiction —love story. It drew me in right from the beginning and it was hard to put down and go back to regular everyday life. Lots of twists and turns in this book —it is full of mystery, it has thriller moments , a romance , and has conspiracy theory — I really got attached to the main character and I began to feel her anxiety and other emotions with her—by chapter 15 I was on the edge of my seat and I really had to know what was gonna happen — Highly recommend !

In 2022, Elizabeth finds herself confronted with the news that her ex-boyfriend, Brandon has died years ago. Traumatised by her life choices. Elizabeth finds herself back in time to 2017 where she is no longer married and Brandon is alive. With the help of Brandon’s brother Christopher, they work together to uncover the mystery behind Brandon’s death.
This story has it all with plenty of mystery, suspense and romance. I was so consumed by it all, reading every chance that I could.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.